Computer Scrabble Deluxe
(Leisure Genius, 1987)

This is much the same as the previous edition of Computer Scrabble, but of course there are a few improvements. For a start, it's a bit faster in that messages appear on the screen more quickly. In addition, the computer's vocabulary has been expanded to some 20,000 words, although this also means that the game requires 128K of memory. There is also the option to save your game if you want to resume it at a later date, and you can also play against the clock. The one disadvantage is that this is the only CPC game I know of that emulates a PCW; the graphics are in the high resolution, two-colour mode! However, this is not as much of a problem as it sounds, and many good games of Scrabble can be played against the computer. The urge to cheat is still strong, though...

See also: Computer Scrabble.

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Confuzion
(Incentive, 1985)

This is a cool little puzzle game consisting of 64 levels, each of which is a grid made up of tiles with tracks printed on them. Each level also has one or more bombs which need to be detonated using a spark which travels along the tracks. Your task is to move the tiles so that the spark can touch the bombs and make them explode. Later levels have more bombs, and teardrops which extinguish the spark – and anyway, you'll have to be quick, or the spark will extinguish itself. The graphics are simple yet colourful, and puzzle fans should love this rather original game.

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In Con-Quest, you play a little Magic Knight lookalike called Oscar, who's been left an old house by his dead aunt. Unfortunately, the house has been taken over by an evil demon and his cronies, so the game centres around Oscar's attempts to rid the mansion of all the bad guys before (presumably – I never got that far!) taking on the leader, Grell. You have to explore the mansion, searching for items to kill certain baddies with. There's even a car hidden somewhere, so you can zoom around without encountering baddies (until the petrol runs out!). The sound is poor but the graphics are above average – atmospheric though a bit dark – and the game is definitely addictive. The main down points are the sheer size of the game, and the amount of items you are given with no clue as to their use. As a result, you're left with a good game that could have been excellent.

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Conspiration de l'An III
(Ubi Soft, 1988)
Reviewed by Guillaume Chalard

You must go back in time, in order to prevent a conspiracy. That’s all I remember about the plot. This is a text adventure game with accompanying graphics – and what graphics! They’re colourful and very detailed. Every location is perfectly rendered (note that the text is in MODE 1, and the graphics are in MODE 0). The game understands easily what you want to do (it is in French, by the way!). Of course, as usual in this kind of game, the adventure is very linear, and you often have to wait while the game loads something from the disc. You have to find the exact words, and without a walkthrough, it is very difficult to progress. But you want to discover new screens; they’re so gorgeous!

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In the future, civilisation is in great danger from a wave of viruses sweeping the planet. The World Health Organisation must contain these outbreaks as best it can. Your role is to obtain samples of the viruses and analyse them so that you can create antidotes. This is done by rotating and/or reversing the order of the elements that make up the viruses. The order depends on how the virus spreads, so you can use this knowledge to create antidotes for similar viruses more quickly. You can also use a 'scorched earth' policy, or as a very last resort, use a nuclear bomb – but you may well be forced to resign if you do this! The graphics are very good, especially the map of the world, but the tasks you must perform soon become quite repetitive, and the arcade-style game in which you create antidotes could have been a lot better.

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This game was supposed to be called Continental Circuits, but someone misheard the name and it ended up as Continental Circus instead – never mind. The game sees you racing on eight Grand Prix tracks around the globe with 99 other cars, and you start last. To go to the next stage, you must complete a lap of the circuit within the time limit and reach a certain position. If you crash into other cars, you'll have to go to the pits and get your car repaired, but if you leave it too long, your engine will catch fire! Everything – the graphics, sound and music – is excellent, and it's one of the best racing games on the CPC. The first track is tough, though.

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Contraption
(Audiogenic, 1985)

A mad professor has built a machine called the Contraption which is powered by golden apples, and you must collect the apples strewn around each level. You'll need to work out the exact route across each screen first, though! When you have collected all the apples, you'll then have to feed them into the Contraption to maintain it. The graphics are quite good and the menu screen is well worth seeing, although there's little to say about the sound. I still don't like it much, as it's just too hard – I can't get past the second level!

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The world is under threat, and you have been assigned to patrol a section of the inner sea and destroy enemy fighter 'planes, ships and submarines. A map displays the positions and movements of the enemy, and when you wish to engage in combat, you are taken to another screen where alerts are highlighted and you must select one of three weapons with which to attack, depending on the level and nature of the threat. This leads to one of three sub-games – shooting down aircraft with Seawolf missiles, guiding an Exocet missile across the sea and aiming it at enemy ships, or using a helicopter to fire depth charges at a submarine. The sub-games are initially fun to play, but there doesn't seem to be anything else to do, and the game seems to lack any sort of goal to achieve.

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Go back to the lawless era of Prohibition as you play a lone cop in America defending the streets against the gangsters and the bootleggers. Each level consists of a single screen in which men pop out from windows, roofs and boxes, firing bullets and hurling bottles at you, which you must of course dodge. You must try to survive with all your lives intact for a set period of time, after which you will be taken to the next level. You start the game with nine lives, and you'll need them. The music on the menu is an excellent rendition of a very well known tune, and the graphics, while perhaps lacking slightly in colour, are well drawn. The gameplay is hectic and you'll need quick reflexes and a sharp eye to succeed.

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This is one of the less well known cartridge games, at least in the UK. The plot is certainly not original – it's the usual "aliens have taken over the Earth" story. You've got the latest helicopter and have to destroy the aliens. The game is a standard vertically scrolling shoot-'em-up where you fly your helicopter left and right, shoot 'planes and aliens, and collect some power-ups. The extra facilities of the Plus are used here to produce some nice graphics, but it's a shame that the game itself is rather dull.

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